Is Ghostbusters 3 Finally Shooting Next Summer?

On again. Off again. On again. Off again. Now Ghostbusters 3 apparently is on again, with production on the long-gestating sequel beginning Summer 2013.

That’s the news buried in a Deadline story about schedule shifting over at Paramount. The site notes that Paramount put director Ivan Reitman’s football movie Draft Day (starring Kevin Costner) in turnaround, essentially realizing that the actor is too busy filming the studio’s Jack Ryan reboot and the director is about to get things started on Ghostbusters. Deadline reports that filming for the third Ghostbusters should begin “next summer for Sony,” but notes that Bill Murray still has no plans to return – as we reported earlier.

The timing of it makes a lot of sense. With Reitman filming in 2013, that means even if the comedy relies on complicated special effects (which seems likely), Son still can get the sequel in theaters by 2014 … or, on the 30th anniversary of the original film. Think about the film retrospectives that can be planned around that celebration. Much like fans lined up to watch the Indiana Jones series – or are about to line up to watch the complete Twilight Saga on the bog screen -- Ghostbusters enthusiasts probably would jump at the chance to revisit the previous films prior to the release of part three. Yes, even Ghostbusters 2 and its river of hateful slime. It’s kismet.

Then again, nothing has gone so smoothly for Reitman and his third Ghostbusters, and this is a mention in a bigger story about a different studio. So take it with a grain of salt. But Dan Aykroyd has been bragging about having a finished script, so this could mean all systems are go.